Puka Nacua – Nacua is by far the biggest surprise of the early season. His ADP was #280 (Half PPR) and he now leads the NFL in targets with 42. It’s a pretty amazing story but can he continue on this tear? Nacua will be a factor in fantasy for most of the year but when Cooper Kupp returns expect his numbers to come back down to earth.

Justin Jefferson – As expected Jefferson is towards the top in targets and averaging 12.7 targets per game. The touchdowns haven’t been there yet but Jefferson is averaging 152.7 receiving yards per game. If he keeps up this pace he will certainly break the single-season receiving yards record held by Calvin Johnson.

Michael Pittman Jr. – Pittman is also a somewhat surprising name to be at the top of this list. Pittman production was expected to drop off some with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson taking over but that hasn’t been the case. Whether it’s Richardson or Gardner Minshew behind center they have both looked for Pittman early and often.

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By: Brock Wells

Though DeAndre Hopkins has found himself on the wrong end of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy to start his 2022 season, there’s no denying that he’s been one of the league’s best wide receivers since roughly 2014. In his seven seasons with the Houston Texans, he became arguably, alongside J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson, the franchise’s greatest player. With the Arizona Cardinals, he had an excellent 2020 season while his 2021 season was marred by injury.

Hopkins led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2017 with 13. In his nine seasons in the league, he’s had six seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards, including four straight from 2017 to 2020. But if his career ended today, is he a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame? How much time has he spent as the undisputed best receiver in the league, particularly in comparison with other recent receivers who’ve been enshrined?

The last three receivers enshrined in the Hall of Fame are Cliff Branch, Drew Pearson, and Calvin Johnson. Just how does Hopkins compare to these three respectively?

Career receiving yards (regular season):

• Hopkins: 10,581
• Branch: 8,685
• Pearson: 7, 822
• Johnson: 11, 619

A couple of things need further context: 1) The rules of the game that governed the era of Hopkins and Johnson are much friendlier to the offense than those that Branch and Pearson played with. 2) Branch and Pearson both have Super Bowl wins to their credit. Branch and Pearson were also both regular participants in NFL postseason. Perhaps it’s unfair to scrutinize Hopkins for having played on generally poorer teams, but this kind of thing is considered in Hall of Fame voting.

Other details:

Number of seasons leading the league in receiving yards:

• Hopkins: 0
• Branch: 1
• Pearson: 1
• Johnson: 2

Number of seasons leading the league in receiving touchdowns:

• Hopkins: 1
• Branch: 2
• Pearson: 0
• Johnson: 1

Number of seasons leading the league in receiving yards per game:

• Hopkins: 0
• Branch: 2
• Pearson: 1
• Johnson: 2

It doesn’t particularly appear at this point that Hopkins sets himself too far apart from some of his contemporaries in enough statistical categories to be considered for the Hall of Fame at this point. There’s no question as to his abilities and his place as one of the best receivers of his generation. But Hall of Fame worthy? When Calvin Johnson led the league in receiving yards per game, he did so with 105.1 (2011) and 122.8 (2012). Hopkins has never averaged over 100 receiving yards per game in his entire career.

Cliff Branch scored five receiving touchdowns in his career in the postseason. Drew Pearson scored eight. Hopkins has just one. It’s certainly foreseeable that given his position in Arizona, Hopkins is in a good place to continue working towards a Hall of Fame trajectory. If he can replicate his 2020 campaign a couple of more times and perform well in a postseason game or two with the team, his case will become much stronger. As it stands, he lands outside the realm of Canton-level wide receivers.

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D.K. Metcalf certainly has earned all the praise and comparisons that are made about him and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson. Both are physical freaks of nature. In a good way. Both are huge, fast, and nearly impossible to cover. Metcalf has been in the NFL for two years and received Johnson comparisons within his first ten weeks of playing in the NFL. Metcalf is a physical anomaly and plays like it. Metcalf will do freak athlete stuff, like chasing down Budda Baker and preventing a would-be pick-six.

Has Metcalf earned the hype? Is he the next Calvin Johnson, the next “Megatron” of the NFL? For beginners, their combine numbers are startling close. Johnson ran a 4.35 40-yard dash. Metcalf ran a 4.33 40-yard dash. So Metcalf is actually faster in this regard. The difference is minimal, two-tenths of a second are not very noticeable, but it is still impressive to see Metcalf beat out Johnson.

Metcalf is 6″4. Johnson is 6″5. Both were better as straight-line, go-up-and-get-it type players. Because of their size, neither was the best route runner in the league. But as Johnson was arguably the best deep threat in the NFL during his time, so is Metcalf. Metcalf has also spoken out against the comparisons to Johnson.

“Stop comparing me to people. I’m me. Playing against me. Not anyone else. Calvin is Calvin. It’s a blessing to be compared to him. I take the compliment with a grain of salt. I’m trying to pave my own way.” Metcalf said this during an interview on the Rich Eisen show. Unfortunately for Metcalf, it’s not up to him whether he will stop being compared to Johnson.

The two are just way too similar to not be compared. So, will Metcalf be the next “Megatron” of the NFL? Here are three reasons why the answer to that is yes.

Similar Talent

Johnson was arguably the most freaky player in the NFL during his time. There was no other receiver, cornerback, or another type of player like him. Similar to Derrick Henry, Johnson was the only player of his position with a body type like he had. Metcalf is the same way. The only other receiver in the NFL who is similar in body type is Chase Claypool. Claypool is another freak athlete and should be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in 2021.

But Metcalf is faster than Claypool and is thicker and stronger than Claypool. Going back to the combine numbers from earlier, it is easy to see that athletically, Metcalf is similar to Johnson. The difference in height is minimal, one more inch on a receiver that is above 6″3 does not make a big difference. Talent-wise, both players are very similar. This is the main reason that Metcalf will be the next “Megatron,” but there are two more reasons to back up this claim.

His QB is Russell Wilson

Perhaps the greatest deep ball quarterback of all time, Russell Wilson greatly increases Metcalf’s skills and talents. The two are almost perfect for each other. Wilson helps showcase what Metcalf is so good at, running past, and jumping over defenders to catch the ball. Wilson’s ability to run around and extend plays does help too.

Metcalf is a huge target for Wilson, someone that he can trust whenever things are breaking down around him. Thus, Metcalf receives more targets. Metcalf had 129 targets in 2020, thirty more than 2019. Wilson knows he has a freaky athlete on his team, so he uses him. This only helps Metcalf’s stock rise as the next “Megatron” of the NFL. Imagine if Metcalf was stuck in Jacksonville or something. There is no way that he would be dubbed the next “Megatron.” His quarterbacks would not be able to get him the ball for that nickname to appear.

The NFL era benefits the receiver

Simply put, this era of the NFL is built to help the wide receiver succeed. Receivers are given the benefit of the doubt on iffy pass interference calls. Receivers can be more physical, and while the NFL has created rules to punish receivers for pushing off, it rarely gets called. (Just ask Saints fans- *cough* Kyle Rudolph *cough*)

But seriously, Metcalf takes full advantage of these rules. He uses his frame, and the rules, to his advantage. He will lock cornerbacks out from the ball with one arm while going up to catch it with the other. At the last second, he brings his other arm up to bring in the ball. Did he need his second arm? Maybe not. With nearly ten-inch hands, he could probably catch the football with one hand. In the end though, Metcalf benefits from a period in the NFL where the rules are even laxer than they were during the time of Calvin Johnson. He has every chance to take up the Mantle as the next “Megatron.” The only thing that stands in his way is himself. (And perhaps, Jalen Ramsey, but that is a diffrent story.)

The post 3 reasons why DK Metcalf can be the next megatron appeared first on Pro Football Mania.